by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY Sports reporter Sam Amick will be updating all the moves Thursday as NBA teams make their final push before the trade deadline at 3 p.m.

3:00 P.M. EST: For a short wrap-up here, I'll defer to the front office executive who texted me some 34 minutes before the deadline and said, "This trade deadline could be like kissing your sister." Yuck, in other words. And he was right.

There were last minute considerations of a deal - as mentioned below - to send Iman Shumpert to the Los Angeles Clippers, but ultimately it never went down. The Clippers did two small deals near the deadline though: veteran forward Antawn Jamison, was sent into the Atlanta Hawks' salary cap space as a way to help the Clippers with their luxury tax bill, and big man Byron Mullens was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a second-round pick but also to serve the same purpose. Finally, the San Antonio Spurs sent point guard Nando de Colo to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for small forward Austin Daye.

2:29 P.M. EST: With the minutes dwindling away on a possible deal involving the New York Knicks' Iman Shumpert, I'm told the MCL sprain he suffered on Wednesday night is "very mild" and that he's expected to miss no more than two weeks. We'll see if that's good news enough to inspire someone to do a deal for him before this is all said and done.

While the Los Angeles Clippers and Knicks were known to be discussing a deal involving Shumpert, the Oklahoma City Thunder were also reported to be interested. According to a person with knowledge of the Thunder's situation, though, Shumpert is not expected to be dealt their way in these final minutes.

2:05 P.M. EST: With less than an hour left to go, the crickets continued to be heard around most of the league. I'm told all is quiet for - among many others, I'm sure - the Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Pelicans. In relation to the below note on the Los Angeles Lakers' Jordan Hill, the Mavericks do have interest in him but the proposal is problematic because of the Lakers' desire to move both Hill and fellow big man Chris Kaman in order to get under the luxury tax.

1:18 P.M. EST: With Los Angeles Lakers big man Jordan Hill widely known to be on the block, these last couple of hours should be very interesting. Hill looked to be headed for the Brooklyn Nets, who wanted to use their disabled player exception to add more depth down low despite the fact that they'll take yet another huge luxury tax hit by doing so. But according to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Lakers are now asking for a second-round pick in the deal and it's safe to say the Nets don't see that as a fair deal. What's more, the sheer cost of doing that deal is still giving the Nets reason to pause.

Often times, teams that are moving a player like Hill in order to help get them under the increasingly-restrictive luxury tax will offer a pick in addition to the player. The fact that the opposite is being requested in this scenario has only complicated what was already a daunting situation for the Nets. The Lakers are clearly talking to several teams, and Dallas, Phoenix and Cleveland were reported by ESPN.com as possibilities.

12:49 P.M. EST: On the Sacramento-Cleveland front, I'm told the Jarrett Jack-for-Jason Thompson deal first reported by ESPN.com is on life support. The initial report indicated that the Cavs wanted a third team to send Thompson to, and apparently they're finding that extraordinarily difficult.

12:45 P.M. EST: Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour are headed from Milwaukee to the Charlotte Bobcats in a deal that will send Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien to the Bucks. Details here.

12:37 P.M. EST: The deal we all knew was coming in some form finally happened, as Andre Miller was sent to the Washingont Wizards in a three-team deal. For the details, read here.

12:20 P.M. EST: In all these months of Rajon Rondo trade chatter, there has been one overriding belief among those league executives who thought Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge may be willing to give him up: it would happen on Trade Deadline Day.

Well, with less than three hours to go before the deadline, that isn't the case just yet. And likely won't be until the buzzer sounds.

According to a person with knowledge of the Celtics' dealings, there is nothing remotely substantive in play at the moment when it comes to trading Rondo. For more on that front, read here.

12:04 P.M. EST: While we mentioned below that Denver Nuggets point guard Andre Miller was likely to be traded to the Washington Wizards or Minnesota Timberwolves, there are strong signs that the Wizards are out in front of this race.

11:57 A.M. EST: The Charlotte Bobcats are closing in on a deal for Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Neal, but it's not done yet. Bobcats point guard Ramon Sessions would likely be heading to Milwaukee in the deal.

11:27 A.M. EST: Things can change quickly, but the New York Knicks have been thus far unsuccessful in their attempts to make something happen and I'm told they don't have any progress on any front at the moment.

It's unclear if the widely-reported talks between the Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers are completely dead, especially in light of the fact that a key player in said talks, the Knicks' Iman Shumpert, went down with a knee sprain Wednesday night.

10:12 A.M. EST: The Philadelphia 76ers have traded center Spencer Hawes to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for forward Earl Clark, Henry Sims and two second round picks, two people with knowledge of the deal confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced.

The seven-year veteran has averaged 13 points and 8.5 rebounds for a Sixers team that, at 15-40, is10 games out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

Hawes is making $6.5 million in this the last year of his contract, while Clark is owed $4.2 million this season and has a team option for $4.2 million for next season.

10:07 A.M. EST: I mentioned last night that, despite reports to the contrary, I'm being told that the Oklahoma City Thunder are not among the teams pursuing Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Neal. And now this related note: they're not among the teams in the mix for Sacramento Kings guard Jimmer Fredette either. The fourth-year player had his team option for next season declined by the Kings on Nov. 1, and it still appears likely he'll be traded by day's end.

9:25 A.M. EST: So when asked all week which trade I was sure would happen, the default answer was always one involving Denver Nuggets point guard Andre Miller. He had his well-chronicled verbal blowup with coach Brian Shaw, hasn't played since Dec. 30 and was widely believed to be headed out of town before the deadline.

But with less than six hours to go before the bell rings, there was nothing close yet on the Miller front. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Washington Wizards are in the lead for his services.

FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT

A bit of cross-promotion here, but you can never talk about Kevin Love too much, so...

This story from last night looks at the bizarre back and forth between Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders and Hall of Fame sports columnist Peter Vecsey.

Also, a look at the state of the Phoenix Suns trade talks and the surprising fact that they may, in the end, stand pat. Or, of course, they may not.